Honours even between Golds and Blues

Blues substitute Steve Kirkham looked to have given the away side the points but Nathan Peacock converted a late spot-kick after Golds captain Ross McKay was felled in the penalty area.

The home side, defeated in their last two home matches, got off to a perfect start when David Gaskin fired past Rustington goalkeeper Andy McCarthy in the seventh minute with a powerful drive from 20 yards which found the top corner.

Rustington, who had tasted defeat just once in their previous 11 matches, responded well to the early setback and pulled level on 24 minutes. Striker Chris Darwin broke free down the left-hand side and his cross was cleared into the path of strike partner, Andy Boxall, who steadied himself before finishing past Golds keeper James Askew.

Littlehampton nearly regained the lead before half-time when midfielder Niall O’Hagan’s 30-yard effort was spilled on to the post by McCarthy, before going out for a corner.

With the pitch clearly affected by the recent bad weather, players were finding it hard to keep their balance and chances in the second half were at a premium.

Home forward Peacock found some space in the area but saw his powerful effort saved by McCarthy.

Other than several strong challenges that resulted in bookings by referee Paul Barratt, there was little else for the crowd who braved the cold to cheer, until Kirkham’s cross-shot looped over Askew and into the net in the 87th minute.

This looked to have sealed the win for Brett Torode’s side but the lead lasted just two minutes. McKay burst into the Rustington penalty box only to be brought down and Barratt immediately pointed to the spot. The defender had started the move which led to the penalty in his own half, and Peacock stepped up to score the resulting spot-kick

The late drama continued in stoppage time when Kirkham had a claim for a penalty waved away.

On a day when many fixtures succumbed to freezing conditions, the draw moves John Suter’s side up into third in the County League Division 2 table, while Rustington climbed a place to eighth.

LITTLEHAMPTON: Askew; Wollers, Hazell, McKay, Goff; Ghent, Russell, O’Hagan, Gaskin; Peacock, Jarvis. Subs: Hellen (O’Hagan 45), Gritt (Russell 73), Beadle, Gritt, Taylor.

RUSTINGTON: McCarthy; Bibb, Neal, Sayers; Green, Jones, Huckett, Hudson, Bennett; Boxall, Darwin. Subs: Kirkham (Boxall 76), Wimbleton (Hudson 85), Matthews, Adams, Romsey.